Where have the designers at Honda been hiding? Until now, all Acura’s have been handsome but almost painfully bland. Then, out of nowhere, they spring this drop-dead gorgeous rendition of the TL on us with little fanfare and no advanced warning. Where has this talent been hiding up to now?

The new TL is a revelation. It has an aggressive stance, a clean profile, a deep character line that rises along its flanks, and a cleanly aggressive rear end. The only piece that detract in any way is the rocker panel cover, and it’s so minor an annoyance as to not deserve more than a passing mention. Hats off to the folks responsible.

Inside, the look is equally as tasteful, though not as adventurous. In fact, the interior design errs on the side of tradition by adhering to accepted sport/luxury cues instead of bringing some of the exterior’s boldness into the cabin. The interior darkness of the vehicle tested – it has a black leather interior – made the interior feel heavier than necessary, though not out of step with the interior of many of the TL’s competitors. But a dash of flair – whether in the form of a body-color band along the instrument panel and door panels, or a thin line of bright aluminum trim on the same surfaces – would set the TL nearer to the Alfa Romeo passion the exterior evokes than the overstuffed “I’ve got it all” ambience it now has.

With 270 hp, you expect the TL to be a fair sporting sedan, especially since Acura has pitched it against worthy competitors like the Cadillac CTS, Infiniti G35, and BMW’s 3 and 5 Series sedans. Without doubt, the TL is quick and capable. It’s front-drive chassis even makes a pretty decent stab at taming winding roads. The automatic transmission ameliorates the torque steer that bedevils the manual transmission car, but the sense of fun that separates a true sport sedan from a sport/luxury sedan can’t be found. Don’t get me wrong, the personality of this car is by no means dour. It just doesn’t have that streak of mischievousness the truly great cars effortlessly possess.